Post 3 in Lifting up the Soul
Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul.
-Psalm 25:1 ASV
David says, “To you do I, David, lift up my soul” when he speaks to God. David is responsible for the action of lifting his soul. The soul is a possession. It is a living entity within you and given to you by God. It comes with a manual, a 66-book Bible, to instruct you on the purpose of your soul and the things you need to do in the body to keep your soul alive eternally. The soul needs to cultivate that relationship with God, just as a person cultivates any close relationship. David called on God with the full intention of applying himself to the task of lifting up his soul.
The word for “lift” in the Hebrew is nasa. It means to desire and anxiously long for. The nasa type of longing pushes one to act. The longing in this passage points back to Jehovah. David was longing for Jehovah with an fervent need, and this need is found in another passage in the psalms.
“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
For in thee do I trust:
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
For I lift up my soul unto thee.” -Psalm 143:8ASV
The psalmist needed to hear God’s lovingkindness when he began his day. The meaning behind “lovingkindness” is a merciful consideration for a well-favored individual, but the word chesed, used here for “lovingkindness,” means more. It is used in the context of an agreed-upon contract, or covenant, between the people involved. Married couples make a bond like this when they vow to love and cherish and be there for each other. It’s a covenant relationship that is made by choice. Both parties agree to keep their part in the agreement. Just as a husband and wife need to begin their day with assurances of love and mutual consideration for one another, every soul needs the assurance that only Jehovah can give. Every Christian has vowed to keep covenant with Jehovah, and, therefore, needs to be reminded daily what she means to Him. One cannot be reminded of this or refreshed by His promises without letting Him communicate with her. The Bible is that reminder and refresher. Its purpose is to tell the soul the kind of person God is and how He promises to help one to be more like Him.
A young woman once shared with me the reason she wasn’t interested in studying anything in the Bible. She said she’d had the Bible “shoved down her throat” all her life and felt she knew more than most Christians her age. Comparing your Bible knowledge is another fiery dart of the devil that hinders us from lifting up the soul to God. No one is being graded on how many verses memorized or how many little-known Bible facts they’ve amassed. Sometimes even the goal of reading the Bible through in a year can cause one to become focused on checking off a list of chapters, anxious to get through the Book instead of listening to God. Reading God’s Word daily with the purpose of listening to Him is crucial. One cannot lift up her soul to God without listening to Him as He speaks to us through His word. So, go to His word with the purpose of listening to Him. What does He say about living for Him? What does He mean by loving Him? Search intently for His assurances; they are strengthening and freeing to one’s mind, heart, and soul.
My precious sister, you need to hear the words “I love you.” You need them so much that, from the moment you wake, it is a pressing desire and longing inside of you to have proof of that love. Listen to the words of David again using the NIV version: “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.” (Psalm 143:8a).
I don’t know the words that met your ears when you began your mornings as a child, and I don’t know the words your ears hear each morning now. When your soul is deprived of love; whether by neglect, loneliness, or cruel design; you suffer tremendously. Whether you have suffered in the past or are suffering a deprivation of love right now, you need to know Jehovah God has not stopped loving you. You need to know daily that He’s thinking of your needs and your well-being. That’s why He gave you that great Book that took thousands of years of planning and seeing things through to get into your hands. If He can plan the lives of so many generations of people to bring about a way to save you and the many souls of this earth, you can trust He knows what is best for you. God’s love for you is expressed for all time in His Word. He made you so He could love you, and He sacrificed His greatest Treasure, His only Son, to keep you beside Him forever. He is committed to you and what is best for your soul. As your soul seeks to come before God and draw close to Him, know that the Most High God wants you to come to Him with the assurance of His love and desire to bless your soul (Hebrews 4:16).
Listen to just a few of His words of love:
“The Lord appeared to him long ago, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you out with kindness.’” Jeremiah 31:3
“for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father.” John 16:27
“Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my love.” John 15:9
This is the third post in the Lifting Up the Soul study from Psalm 25. Subscribe to WomEnCourage to be notified as this study continues.